The present invention relates to a hot water heating control system and in particular to an electronic control device utilizing a solid-state design and microprocessor technology which is programmable by the user and operable by one with little or no computer knowledge.
While heating system control devices are known in the art, such conventional devices have little flexibility in control, especially with the control of hot water heating systems wherein the output of a boiler is fed by a pump to a motorized mixing valve along the main hot water line of the heating system. The ability to adjust various parameters in the heating system has taken on new importance with the considerable increase in heating fuel costs.
In conventional control devices, the mining valve is controlled by conventional motor control systems which involve inefficient overshooting and the inability to accommodate the system to particular climatic conditions.
Further, standard off-the-shelf control systems are not adaptable to different buildings and each device must be fitted with customized parts for particular applications.
Other disadvantages of the conventional systems are that they do not control the pump, they do not conserve the life of the mixing valve control motor and they do not enable the system to anticipate changeovers from night-time to day-time conditions especially when unexpected temperature changes have occurred external of the building. Conventional systems have difficulty in adapting the initial warm-up period in the morning and thus buildings remain cold even during the early morning working hours, which is highly undesirable.